South Asia Terrorism Portal
Northeast: A Pale Islamist Shadow M.A.Athul Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
During a span of 11 days, between September 13 and September 23, 2018, Security Forces (SFs) arrested nine Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) cadres, all residents of Assam. The first arrest took place on September 13, when a trained HM cadre, Qamar-uz-Zaman, was arrested from Shivnagar locality in Kanpur District of Uttar Pradesh. Zaman hails from Jamunamukh in Hojai District of Assam. The Uttar Pradesh Police and National Investigation Agency (NIA) subsequently alerted authorities in Assam about the arrest.
On September 14, Police arrested Shahnawaz Alam from Nilbagan in the Hojai District of Assam. On September 15, Police arrested SaidulAlam, a resident of the Lanka region in Hojai District, from Udali in Nagaon District (Assam). On the same day, Police arrested Omar Faruk near Byrnihat along the Assam-Meghalaya border. On September 17, Police arrested Zaman's elder brother Saiful Islam,and recovered INR 106,000 from his house in Jamunamukh in Hojai District. Police sources disclosed that Saiful Islam was detained by the Police on September 15 and was interrogated till his arrest. On September 18, Police arrested another three persons, Baharul Islam, Riyazuddin Bhuyan and Joynal Ahmed from Hojai District.
On September 18, 2018, Ankur Jain, Superintendent of Police (SP),Hojai District,stated:
Later, on September 23, a linkman of HM, identified as Abhumanyu Chouhan was arrested from Mosoka under Kheroni Police Station in Karbi Anglong District.
HM was reportedly attempting to supply sophisticated arms, including AK 47 assault rifles, for its operatives in the State. Sources said that the arms procurement process had already begun and there might be some links with dealers based in Nagaland in the entire process. An unnamed senior Police official added, “As per our report, the outfit could not execute its plan to supply arms but then we are not ruling out any possibility. Many new revelations have come up during the questioning.”
The quick arrest of six HM militants within a week of the initial arrest in Uttar Pradesh and continuing investigations into their disclosures are likely to bring this incipient movement to an end. There is little evidence of any sustainable network associated with HM in Assam, and the present cluster is likely to have been a one-off development, based on individual associations developed by Zaman, who had gone to Kashmir’s Kishtwar District as a petty trader in 2013, and had subsequently joined HM.
The arrest of Islamist militants is, however, not a new phenomenon in Assam. A long list of Islamist outfits has been operating in Assam since the 1990’s. The rise of Islamist militancy started in North Eastern India in the wake of the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition and the subsequent communal disturbances; as well as because of Manipur's infamous Meitei-Muslim riots in 1993. Pakistan’s’ Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), relentless in its design to exploit India’s vulnerabilities, received help from the regime in Bangladesh, which, at that time, was deeply hostile to India. A hotbed of Islamist radicalization and militancy, Bangladesh was used by ISI to extend its proxy war against India – a situation that has changed dramatically in New Delhi’s favour since the Sheikh Hasina Government assumed office in 2009.
A majority of Islamic militant groups in the Northeast were founded between 1990 and 1996, with the proclaimed objective of ‘safeguarding the overall interests’ of the minority Muslim communities in the region. More groups surfaced in the early 2000s, but these were short-lived.
Nevertheless, trace activities of Islamist extremists persist. According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), at least 109 Islamist extremists have been arrested across the Northeast since 2015 (data till September 23, 2018). These include 57 cadres in 2015 [20 Bangladesh-based Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), 19 Muslim Tiger Force of Assam (MTFA), 10 Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam [MULTA], one cadre each of Muslim Liberation Army (MLA) and Peoples United Liberation Front (PULF), and six others (group not identified)];36 cadres in 2016 [24 JMB, six MTFA, one each of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), MULTA, Indian Mujahideen (IM), and three others (group not identified)];six cadres in 2017 [five MULTA, one JMB. At least 10 Islamist extremists, including eight HM, two MULTA, have been arrested thus far in 2018 (data till September 23, 2018).
In addition, State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rockybul Hussain had informed the State Assembly on December 15, 2014, that between January 2001 and November 2014, a total of 130 Islamist extremists, including 106 MULTA cadres, 14 of Harakat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), and 10 of JMB, were arrested in Assam.On December 8, 2015, Rockybul Hussain had informed the State Assembly that three Islamist militant groups, MULTA, JMB, and HuM, were active in the State.
During the Assam violence in July 2012, the Central Government identified at least 19 Islamist organisations to watch in connection with violence in the State. The list included 14 groups from Assam: Muslim Security Council of Assam (MSCA), United Liberation Militia of Assam (ULMA),Islamic Liberation Army of Assam(ILAA), Muslim Volunteer Force (MVF), Muslim Liberation Army (MLA), Muslim Security Force (MSF), Islamic Sevak Sanng (ISS), Islamic United Reformation Protest of India (IURPI), Revolutionary Muslim Commandos (RMC), Muslim Tiger Force (MTF), Muslim Liberation Front (MLF), Muslim Liberation Tigers of Assam (MLTA), Muslim United Liberation Front of Assam (MULFA)and MULTA. There were five groups from Manipur in the list: Islamic National Front (INF), Islamic Revolutionary Front (IRF), United Islamic Liberation Army (UILA), United Islamic Revolutionary Army (UIRA) and PULF.
According to SATP, at least 20 Islamist terror formations have operated in Assam at different periods.
Historically, the most active among these groups were MULTA, and the People's United Liberation Front [PULF]. While the former confined its activities to Assam, the latter operated in Manipur and in the adjoining Districts of south Assam. Their presence has also been felt in the neighbouring States of Nagaland and Meghalaya. At one time, Harakat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) was also very active along with Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI). Around 500 militants mostly belonging to MULTA, PULF, and HuM either surrendered or were arrested in Assam and Manipur between 1999 and 2004, after which very limited activity has been noticed by the surviving elements of these groupings.
The presence of JMB in Assam was exposed after the discovery of the Burdwan Module in West Bengal. An accidental explosion at Burdwan on October 2, 2014, in which two JMB militants were killed and another was injured. NIA claimed that, during the course of investigations, it had been found that operatives of JMB had established their networks in different Districts of Assam, Jharkhand, and West Bengal. According to the NIA Charge sheets, five accused in the case belonged to State of Assam. The NIA also claimed that JMB operatives
One of the charge sheeted persons, Lal Mohammed aka Ibrahim, a JMB cadre arrested by Jharkhand Police on April 18, 2015 (NIA officially arrested him on April 27, 2015), reportedly revealed to interrogators that JMB’s sabotage plans in Assam were intended to counter Bodo ‘aggression’. Similarly, reports indicated that MTFA was formed to take 'revenge’ for the massacre of Muslims in the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD) in May 2014.
Earlier on December 24, 2017, a report had mentioned that intelligence agencies had intercepted messages by the Kerala-based extremist Popular Front of India (PFI) sent to West Asian countries, linked to a campaign launched against the updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). According to reports, PFI is currently active in Goalpara, Karimganj, Silchar, Hailakandi, Kamrup, Borpeta, Baksa, Chirang, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, South Salmara, Lakhimpur, Nagaon and Tinsukia Districts of Assam.
According to a report published on June 30, 2018, the process of updating the NRC in Assam has provoked some radical Islamist outfits to step up their activities in areas inhabited by suspected illegal migrants. Inputs received by security agencies suggest that organisations from the country’s south are on overdrive to expand their base among the community through 'philanthropic activities', such as the distribution of textbooks and blankets. While these organisations were initially confined to Goalpara and Darrang, their activities have now expanded to include Karimganj, Chirang and Baksa. A students’ wing floated by one of these groups has also been making efforts to enrol students in Guwahati.
Pallab Bhattacharya, the then Additional Director General of Assam Police in charge of the Special Branch, said that the NRC has offered scope to many organisations to 'fish in troubled waters': “The recent conference by the SIO (Students Islamic Organisation) at the Delhi press club is an example, as is the raising of the NRC issue at the level of the United Nations.”
Earlier, a June 20, 2018, report claimed that ISI had activated sleeper cells in Assam to cause disturbances after the NRC is completed. There are previous instances when ISI agents were apprehended in the State. For example, on August 10, 1999, four ISI agents identified as Fasih Ullah Hussain, Javed Musaffar, Maulana Hafiz Mohammed. Akram Mallick and Qari Salim Ahmed were arrested from Guwahati. On June 22, 2007, 13 suspected ISI agents were arrested by the Army in North Cachar District. On October 15, 2012, SFs arrested a suspected ISI agent, identified as Akhtar Hussain, in Dhemaji District.
Major global Islamist terrorist groups such as al Qaeda and the Islamic State have also long been eying the region. Osama bin Laden’s 1996 fatwa, "Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places," first mentioned Assam. Again, at the time of its formation in September 2014, al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) specifically listed Assam among the target for jihad, along with Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir. Similarly, in June 2014, the Islamic State issued a map project the regions of the world that it planned to dominate over the succeeding five years, which included all of India in its projected Khorasan Vilayat. There is, however, no visible sign of the presence of these formations in Assam.
Despite the long list of Islamist militant groupspresent in Assam, no operational successes have marked their existence in the past years, suggesting an absence of operational capabilities, as well as the ability of law enforcement agencies in countering their embryonic plots. The loss of Bangladesh as a safe haven and launching pad has also made any consolidation difficult. Indeed, Bangladeshi extremists formations such as JMB now see India’s Northeast as a refuge and escapefrom the crackdown in their own country, rather than as an area of potential operations.
There has been a consolidation of peace in Assam,which has experienced a multiplicity of ethnic insurgencies since 1979. With ethnic insurgent violence in its last leg, it is unlikely that Islamist formations will find any easy ground to operate in the State. The discovery and neutralization of the HM cell is an isolated incident, unlikely to auger any new trend.
AFGHANISTAN: Looming Crises S. Binodkumar Singh Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
On September 15, 2018, thousands of Grand National Coalition of Afghanistan (GNCA) supporters closed the provincial offices of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) in Herat, Balkh and Kandahar Provinces after the Government and the IEC failed to positively respond to their demands. On August 10, 2018, GNCA set a 10-day deadline for a response from Government to meet their demands, including the use of a biometric system for elections, a change in the election system and a transparent poll across the country. GNCA also warned that it would close the IEC offices in Nangarhar, Kunduz, Bamiyan, Panjsher, Faryab and Jawzjan Provinces, if their demands were not met.
Further, on September 17, 2018, supporters of GNCA set up tents and closed the provincial election office in eastern Nangarhar Province, launching a sit-in protest. Later, Police arrested 16 GNCA supporters on charges of disrupting the provincial election office and removed the tents.
GNCA, consisting of 35 political parties, was formed on July 26, 2018, under the leadership of General Abdul Rashid Dostum, the First Vice President and leader of Junbish Party, with the declared objective of working for improved governance, creating jobs, holding of transparent elections and ensuring improved security across the country. Other key figures in GNCA include Acting Foreign Minister and head of Jamiat-e-Islami, Salahuddin Rabbani; Jamiat-e-Islami Chief Executive, Atta Mohammad Noor; Second Chief Executive Officer and leader of Hezb-i-Wahdat, Mohammad Mohaqiq; former President, Hamid Karzai; former National Directorate of Security (NDS) Chief, Rahmatullah Nabil; former Vice President, Younus Qanuni; former Finance Minister, Anwar ul-Haq Ahadi; former Water and Energy Minister, Ismail Khan; Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament) Member of Parliament (MP) from Nangahar, Haji Zahir Qadir; Wolesi Jirga MP from Kandahar, Lalai Hamidzai; former Advisor to President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, Ahmad Zia Massoud; and First Deputy Speaker of Wolesi Jirga, Hamayun Hamayun.
Meanwhile, condemning the GNCA’s move for forcing the closure of election offices in certain provinces, IEC Chief Gula Jan Abdul Badi Sayad, on September 16, 2018, urged the Government to take necessary precautions to ensure the security of the election workers in the provincial offices of the Commission. Similarly, calling on Government leadership to take tough action against those who are trying to derail the election process, Abdul Aziz Aryayee, Chairman of the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC) stated, on September 19, 2018, “Those who are sabotaging the process must be identified; the Afghan Government shouldn’t remain silent.”
Amid growing complaints over the Government’s “lack of commitment” to holding transparent Parliamentary Elections scheduled for October 20, 2018, President Ashraf Ghani on August 7, 2018, issued a decree to prevent any interference in the election process and to ensure that elections are held in a safe and transparent environment. According to the decree, the security forces have the responsibility of maintaining the security of voter registration centers and will prevent the entrance of irresponsible and armed individuals into the centers. The decree also asks Government officials and employees to avoid making use of facilities in favor of any particular candidate and to eschew any form of interference in the election process.
On September 16 2018, the IEC issued the preliminary voters’ lists for Sar-e-Pul, Zabul, Panjsher and Farah Provinces. According to the IEC, work is underway to finalize the voters’ lists for another ten Provinces. IEC commenced voter registration in the provincial capitals on April 14, 2018, and ended the process on July 27, 2018. After that, the IEC announced that around 9.5 million voters had been registered, of which 34 per cent were women. The Commission also began digitizing its records to create a single voters’ list that could be checked for duplication and disaggregated by polling station. Further, in order to remove the concerns of the public and political parties about fraud during the election process, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, National Unity Government (NUG) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), stated that biometric data of voters was important for the elections, and that IEC would announce the procedure for using voters’ biometric data in the ‘near future’.
However, at an event on September 1, 2018, GNCA leaders displayed thousands of fake national identity cards and voter stickers. Photos of Government officials, influential figures and MPs were used in the fake identity cards. For example, the photo of Abdul Jabbar Qahraman, an MP from Helmand Province was used for five ID cards with stickers on them. As a consequence, slamming the Government and the IEC for their shortcomings regarding the upcoming Parliamentary Elections, Gulbudin Hekmatyar, leader of GNCA and Hezb-e-Islami, noted on September 11, 2018, “The Government is moving in a wrong direction and the Independent Election Commission has adopted an unfair approach, emphasizing that the commission is offering an irrelevant justification for the embarrassing fraud in the elections.” He also claimed that voter stickers have been printed with an aim to commit fraud in the elections. Further, on September 18, 2018, accusing the Government of trying to favour Ahmad Zia Massoud, Chief Executive of the GNCA, Hekmatyar asserted, “Government is now planning fraud in the elections so that it can send its representatives to the House of Representatives. It wants those representatives in the Parliament who would serve Government so that it can apply its orders in line with its demands.”
Worse, a number of candidates have been killed around the country over the past few months, raising concerns over the safety of candidates. On September 2, 2018, Anwar Niazi, a parliamentary candidate from the Parwan Province was killed in Kabul in an IED explosion. On August 25, 2018, Jalal Salehi, a candidate from Kabul, was killed in Kabul’s Shakar Dara District. On July 30, 2018, another Nangarhar candidate, Hayatullah Khan Rahmani, was killed when a suicide bomber targeted him in Rodat District in the Province. Another candidate, former member of the Ghazni Provincial Council, Sayed Obaidullah Sadat, was killed in Ghazni city on July 14, 2018, by unknown armed men. On July 1, 2018, the Afghan Sikh and Hindu community leader, Ottar Singh Khalsa, who was running for parliamentary elections, was killed in a suicide attack in Jalalabad city in Nangarhar Province. While these incidents were widely reported, no official source has released details on the exact number of candidates targeted.
On September 13, 2018, at a gathering in Kabul, election watchdog Transparent Election Foundation of Afghanistan (TEFA) Chief Mohammad Naeem Ayubzada warned that the security problems would pose a major challenge to the elections and that necessary technical and operational preparations for the upcoming Wolesi Jirga polls remained inadequate. Separately, on September 14, 2018, a survey conducted by the Afghan Institute of Strategic Studies (AISS) showed that people’s trust in the IEC was slightly greater compared to the past, but was still not adequate. The survey shows that 45 per cent of 1,305 interviewees in 13 provinces said they were happy with the IEC, while 45 per cent were “not satisfied”. 10 percent of interviewees gave no clear response.
Highlighting Afghanistan’s ongoing political developments, security and election process, United Nations (UN) Secretary General António Guterres submitted the quarterly report on Afghanistan to the UN Security Council on September 10, 2018. According to the report, Afghanistan’s mainstream political parties and political movements have intensified their efforts for reform of the election system ahead of the October Parliamentary Elections. Separately, voicing his concern at security and the political challenges to Afghanistan’s Parliamentary Elections, on September 17, 2018, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) Chief Tadamichi Yamamoto, while briefing the UN Security Council regarding the situation in Afghanistan, cautioned, “Operationally and technically, the preparations are on track. Yet I remain very concerned that political challenges could jeopardize the tight timelines and derail the elections unless all political leaders engage constructively and peacefully to ensure that elections are held on time. Security is also a serious concern.”
On the other hand, expressing grave concern at the increasing activities of the Islamic State (IS, formerly, Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham, also Daesh) militants in Afghanistan, on September 17, 2018, Vassily Nebenzia, Russian Ambassador to the UN observed during a meeting of the UN Security Council, "According to our information, the number of ISIL adherents may reach 10,000 individuals." Contacts between Daesh and representatives of the Islamic Turkistan Movement had also intensified, the envoy asserted, urging joint regional and international action against the outfit. Meanwhile, US Country Reports on Terrorism 2017 released on September 19, 2018, claimed that Afghanistan continued to experience aggressive and coordinated attacks by the Taliban other insurgent and terrorist groups through 2017. The reports further claimed that the Pakistani Government had vowed support to the peace talks between the Afghan Government and the Taliban, but did nothing to restrict the Taliban and Haqqani network from operating from Pakistan-based safe havens and attacking US and Afghan forces in Afghanistan.
The Taliban remains tremendously disruptive. According to the 40th Quarterly Report of Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), as of May 15, 2018, there were 229 Districts under Afghan Government control (74) or influence (155), 56.3 percent of the total number of Districts in the country. This represents no change in District control since the preceding quarter, but is a slight improvement over the 57 per cent reported in May 2017. The number of contested Districts - controlled by neither the Afghan Government nor the insurgency – has, however, increased by three in the quarter under review, to 122 Districts, with 30 per cent of Afghanistan’s Districts now in the ‘contested’ category. 14 per cent of total Afghanistan Districts remained under Taliban control as per SIGAR'S 39th Quarterly Report. The situation remained unchanged as per the 40th Quarterly Report.
Voter registration has long been a weak point undermining the integrity of Afghan elections. In the 2014 election, there were an estimated 23 million voter cards in circulation for a total of around 12 million voters. To get rid of the fake and duplicate voter cards, the National Unity Government Agreement was signed on September 21, 2014, between Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah. However, there are already credible complaints by candidates and observer groups about the new voters’ lists. A bad voters’ list will not only undermine the credibility of the Parliamentary Election slated for October 20, 2018, but also of the politically more significant Presidential Election slated for April 20, 2019. The growing disorders of Afghanistan can only be worsened if trust in the democratic process is undermined.
Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia September 17-23, 2018
Civilians
Security Force Personnel
Terrorists/Insurgents
Total
INDIA
Jammu and Kashmir
INDIA (Left-Wing Extremism)
Andhra Pradesh
Bihar
Chhattisgarh
INDIA (Total)
PAKISTAN
Balochistan
KP
PAKISTAN (Total)
380 militants killed during the operations over the course of the past six months, says Provincial Government: Provincial Government in a statement said that at least 380 militants were killed during the operations over the course of the past six months (exact dates not specified) in Achin, Nazian, Chaparhar, Khogyani, Pacher Agam, Haska Mina, Ghani Khel, and Bati Kot Districts of Nangarhar Province. The statement further added that the Afghan National defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) have conducted 164 operations during the same period and as a result at least 129 militants have also sustained injuries and at least 371 others were arrested. Khaama, September 24, 2018.
513 ANA soldiers were killed, 718 wounded and 43 captured in the last one month, states Afghan Defence Minister General Tariq Shah Bahrami: Afghan Defence Minister General Tariq Shah Bahrami acknowledged the casualty toll problem in Meshrano Jirga (Upper House of Parliament) on September 23 among Afghan National Army (ANA) Soldiers and said in the past month 513 Soldiers were killed. "Unfortunately, in the last one month 513 ANA soldiers were killed, 718 wounded and 43 captured; it was the highest number of fatalities we have had in a single month. Compared to the fatalities among our security forces, the enemy suffered three to four times more than us," said Bahrami. Tolo News, September 24, 2018.
Strength of Islamic State (IS) militants in Afghanistan could rise upto 10,000, says Russian Ambassador: Russian Ambassador (unidentified) stated that strength of Islamic State (IS) militants in Afghanistan could rise upto 10,000. Pajhwok, September 19, 2018.
Political parties move to force the election offices to close unacceptable says IEC Chief Gula Jan Abdul Badi Sayad: Independent Election Commission (IEC) Chief Gula Jan Abdul Badi Sayad condemned the political parties recent move for forcing the election offices to close in certain provinces. He also added that such steps by the political parties would delay the elections process and emphasized that the commission is prepared to hold talks with the political parties to resolve the issues. This comes as the Grand National Coalition, consisting of political parties, has closed the offices of the IEC in Helmand, Balkh, and Kandahar Provinces. Khaama, September 18, 2018.
International militant groups remain threat to Bangladesh despite fall in number of recorded terrorist incidents in 2017, says US Country Report on Terrorism: US State Department in its Country Report on Terrorism in 2017 issued on September 19 said international militant groups remain a threat to Bangladesh despite a fall in the number of recorded terrorist incidents in 2017 following a proactive government approach. The State Department highlights the "zero-tolerance" policy adopted by the Bangladesh Government to counter violent extremism and to prevent the country from becoming a terrorist "safe haven". However, the report highlights the lingering threat posed by transnational groups such as Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). Dhaka Tribune, September 21, 2018.
Pakistan releases 20 postal stamps to honour terrorists killed in Jammu and Kashmi: Pakistan's postal department has released as many as 20 postal stamps in honour of terrorists who were gunned down by Indian Security Forces (SFs) in Jammu and Kashmir. The tickets were issued by the Pakistan Post headquarters in Karachi on July 24 to express Islamabad's solidarity with the people of Kashmir who are "fighting for their rights" against the Indian SFs. According to the report, the tickets that have been issued in honour of terrorists including Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) terrorist Burhan Wani, Farooq Ahmed Dar who was made a human shield by Army and a mass grave found in Kashmir among others. Financial Express, September 22, 2018.
Islamist radical groups are mostly interlinked, states report: According to as the jehadi groups are mostly inter-linked by some way or the other, they usually try to take advantage of local situations to their advantage to indoctrinate youths to join their folds security sources. The activities of Hizbul Mujahideen in Assam were in nascent stage but the investigations revealed that they were trying to procure weapons from Dimapur. The sources also added that Assam Police would have to make a special unit to deal with activities of the jehadi groups like some other States did as the threat cannot be overlooked and the activities of such outfits are not confined to one particular state or country. The Assam Tribune, September 20, 2018.
Maldives' Police and Military must back the 'will' of the people, says former President Nasheed: The former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed on September 21 has said that the Maldives' Military and Police must work together to 'back the will of the people' if there are attempts to manipulate the Presidential election results. It is believed that there would be a split in the top ranks of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) if President Abdulla Yameen tried to maintain his power illegally, said Nasheed. Mohamed Nasheed was convicted on controversial terror charges and lives in exile. He is barred from contesting the upcoming Presidential elections that are scheduled for September 23. Maldives Independent, September 23, 2018.
Out of cash, transitional justice bodies sit idle: Less than five months to the end of the extended tenure of the two transitional justice bodies, little or no progress has been made in investigating the war-era cases of human rights violation as the Government continues to delay the release of funds necessary for the process. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP) have received no money for investigation despite their persistent lobbying for the funds since the beginning of the current fiscal year. Kathmandu Post , September 18, 2018.
Pakistan's effort to end terrorist financing remains uneven, says US:A United States (US) State Department report released on September 20 said that Pakistan criminalised terrorist financing through the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), but its implementation remained uneven. Pakistan is a member of the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering - a Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-style regional body. In June, the Paris-based FATF placed Pakistan on its grey list of countries that could be marked out for economic sanctions if they failed to prevent terrorists from collecting funds within their domain. The official US report - released with the State Department's country reports on terrorism - also highlights FATF's concerns about Pakistan. Dawn, September 22, 2018.
Pakistan-based terror outfits JeM, LeT pose regional threat in subcontinent, says US: The United States (US) on September 19 said the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terror groups continue to pose a regional threat and that Pakistan did not adequately address America's concerns on terrorism in 2017. Although al Qaida in Afghanistan and Pakistan has been seriously degraded, remnants of its global leadership, as well as its regional affiliate al Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), continued to operate from remote locations in the region that historically have been exploited as safe havens, the US State Department said in its annual Country Reports on Terrorism for the year 2017. Times of India, September 20, 2018.
Pakistan will prefer destabilised Afghanistan to a strong state, says US Congressional Report: Pakistan may view a weak and destabilised Afghanistan as preferable to a strong and unified Afghan state, a latest United States (US) Congressional report has said. It asserted that Islamabad may also anticipate that improved relations with Kabul could limit India's influence in the region. "Pakistan sees Afghanistan as potentially providing strategic depth against India. Pakistan may also view a weak and destabilised Afghanistan as preferable to a strong, unified Afghan state (particularly one led by a Pashtun-dominated government in Kabul)," the bipartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in its latest report on Afghanistan has said. Times of India, September 20, 2018.
North East under representation caused ethnic issue, says President Maithripala Sirisena: President Maithripala Sirisena addressing the gathering after vesting with the people development projects completed under the 'Sirisara Pivisuma' development project in Trincomalee District on September 20 said North East under representation caused ethnic issue. He said "Governments that came to power since 1947 used people's representatives in the North and East to secure their power and did not take action to create an environment for appropriate political representation that could have solved economic and development issues." Daily News, September 22, 2018.
Sri Lanka remained vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing, says US Country Reports on Terrorism: US Country Reports on Terrorism released on September 19 said Sri Lanka remained vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing although it is neither an important regional financial centre nor a preferred centre for money laundering. According to the report which was, Sri Lanka belongs to the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering, a Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-style regional body. The FATF has added Sri Lanka to its Public Statement entitled "Improving Global AML/CFT Compliance: On-going process," also known as the "grey list." Daily Mirror, September 21, 2018.
The South Asia Intelligence Review (SAIR) is a weekly service that brings you regular data, assessments and news briefs on terrorism, insurgencies and sub-conventional warfare, on counter-terrorism responses and policies, as well as on related economic, political, and social issues, in the South Asian region.
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